# We need better anti-retard filters for reporters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 23, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659 "2009-01-23T16:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/1 "2009-01-23T16:45:18Z")
Today’s example, but there are so many others… (voiceover while a Spanish farmer is holding a placard showing 871,2 Kg\*) “Just before slaughter, the cow weighed in at 8,712 Kilograms. That’s 2,866 pounds!” No it doesn’t–that’s not a possible cow mass; no, that’s not the weight-in-pounds equivalent of that mass; and yes, you and not your flunky are responsible for the accuracy of your own story. The least you could do is get the conversion right and recognize that either that comma is the same thing as your decimal point or else 19000 pounds or so is a titchy bit big for a cow. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28793341#28793341](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28793341#28793341) \*I am not docking her for mass v weight; in ordinary usage, that’s just fine. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/2 "2009-01-23T17:00:42Z")
The closest conversion rate to the numbers given by the reporter would be converting meters to feet. Even that’s not going to get exactly 2,866. Seriously, where did they get that number? ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/3 "2009-01-23T17:07:49Z")
I tremble in awe and fear of the ton-and-a-half cow. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/4 "2009-01-23T17:18:58Z")
“Awww, poor cow”. Hey, don’t feel bad. Now you don’t have to worry about it taking your job. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/5 "2009-01-23T17:22:10Z")
Yesterday I was watching the news at lunch. In chinatown a van hit 5 school children, two of which died. The news reporter said, “The driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel and jumped the curb, immediately killing one of the children. _Of course, we don’t actually know this, but this is our speculation of what is happening in chinatown_.” :eek::mad: So you don’t actually know what happened, except that a van hit a group of kids, so you are going to extrapolate from this that the driver (apparently there was no driver and the van wasn’t parked properly, causing it to roll backwards and up the curb into the children according to the paper this morning) fell asleep and killed a child. So you are basically just making up news as you go along. Nice job, asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/6 "2009-01-23T19:27:34Z")
That’s a big friggin’ cow. I think we can just chalk that one up to people not listening to themselves or giving any thought to what they’re saying. Or they could just be really stupid. Hard to say. Jim and I like to listen to news and commercials critically and mock them. It’s a hobby. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/7 "2009-01-23T19:36:51Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > “Just before slaughter, the cow weighed in at 8,712 Kilograms. That’s 2,866 pounds!” That doesn’t even bump the tard-o-meter compared to the crap I hear daily. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/8 "2009-01-23T19:39:48Z")
I get so sick of reporters letting politicians off the hook in interviews, missing the most obvious of questions or rebuttals. Sometimes I wish Louis Theroux was doing the interviews; at least he has a bit of bottle when it comes to asking the hard questions. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/9 "2009-01-23T20:04:37Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > I tremble in awe and fear of the ton-and-a-half cow. :eek: I think any animal that size must be one of those Jesus Cows. Could this be a sign of the second coming? Back to you, JIm. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/10 "2009-01-23T20:26:16Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > I tremble in awe and fear of the ton-and-a-half cow. :eek: Don’t get scared. Have you ever seen a Chianina? Males can grow to 2,800 lbs. or even more. [![](https://breeds.okstate.edu/cattle/chianina-cattle?Forwarded=afs.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/chianina/images/chianina-web-1.jpg) ](https://breeds.okstate.edu/cattle/chianina-cattle?Forwarded=afs.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/chianina/images/chianina-web-1.jpg) [http://www.agraria.org/razzebovinecarne/chianina%20toro.jpg](http://www.agraria.org/razzebovinecarne/chianina%20toro.jpg) [http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox\_paddock/chianinab.jpg](http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox_paddock/chianinab.jpg) (not photoshopped). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/11 "2009-01-23T21:52:04Z")
[Cows are getting out of hand.](http://www.kwgn.com/pages/news_local_landing/?Cow-attacks-Boulder-cyclist=1&blockID=191143&feedID=202) I blame vegans. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/12 "2009-01-23T22:16:31Z")
This is just bizarre. They saw the number of the placard, and presumably someone then said, “Hey, we need to convert this number to ‘pounds’ so that American audiences will understand it.” And then not only did they read the actual number wrong, concluding that the cow weighed 8,712kg rather than 871.2kg, but the conversion the did bore no resemblance to _either_ number. As the OP points out, 8,712kg would be about 19,000 pounds, and 871.2kg would be just over 1,900 pounds. The 2,866 pound number they got bears no resemblance whatsoever to any of the numbers they were using. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/13 "2009-01-23T22:46:47Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Don’t get scared. Have you ever seen a Chianina? Males can grow to 2,800 lbs. or even more. > > [http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/chianina/images/chianina-web-1.jpg](http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/chianina/images/chianina-web-1.jpg) > > [http://www.agraria.org/razzebovinecarne/chianina%20toro.jpg](http://www.agraria.org/razzebovinecarne/chianina%20toro.jpg) > > [http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox\_paddock/chianinab.jpg](http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox_paddock/chianinab.jpg) > > (not photoshopped). Holy crap! (And here I am, thinking, how big of a smoker would I need to cook that brisket?) ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/14 "2009-01-23T23:06:35Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Don’t get scared. Have you ever seen a Chianina? Males can grow to 2,800 lbs. or even more. > > [http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/chianina/images/chianina-web-1.jpg](http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/chianina/images/chianina-web-1.jpg) > > [http://www.agraria.org/razzebovinecarne/chianina%20toro.jpg](http://www.agraria.org/razzebovinecarne/chianina%20toro.jpg) > > [http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox\_paddock/chianinab.jpg](http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox_paddock/chianinab.jpg) > > (not photoshopped). I wonder how often those get painted blue? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/15 "2009-01-23T23:27:50Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > This is just bizarre. > > They saw the number of the placard, and presumably someone then said, “Hey, we need to convert this number to ‘pounds’ so that American audiences will understand it.” > > And then not only did they read the actual number wrong, concluding that the cow weighed 8,712kg rather than 871.2kg, but the conversion the did bore no resemblance to _either_ number. As the OP points out, 8,712kg would be about 19,000 pounds, and 871.2kg would be just over 1,900 pounds. The 2,866 pound number they got bears no resemblance whatsoever to any of the numbers they were using. It’s hard for me to imagine an adult who does not know the conversion for kilos to pounds. Of course, I went to school in the '60’s. It’s the ONLY metric equivalent I know. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/16 "2009-01-23T23:43:47Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > It’s hard for me to imagine an adult who does not know the conversion for kilos to pounds. > > Of course, I went to school in the '60’s. It’s the ONLY metric equivalent I know. I’m 40 (that’s 48 metric) and I have no idea what the conversion is. Mostly because I rarely have any reason to convert pounds or kilograms. Nanometers is more up my alley… Haven’t thought about kilos since I quit drugs in 1986. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/17 "2009-01-23T23:59:02Z")
I don’t know many metric/imperial conversions - that’s what my bookmarked website is for (I have to have one to talk to you 'Murkins and your stubborn insistence on not joining the rest of the world). ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/18 "2009-01-24T00:03:39Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I don’t know many metric/imperial conversions - that’s what my bookmarked website is for (I have to have one to talk to you 'Murkins and your stubborn insistence on not joining the rest of the world). But even if you don’t know the answer, it’s really easy to look up, right? I mean, just put **871.2kg in pounds** into Google and you get the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/19 "2009-01-24T00:04:08Z")
I know pounds and kilos, inches and centimeters, yards and meters, gallons and liters, kilometers and miles well enough to approximate. I always look them up when I need to be precise, though. Don’t know 'em that well. If you want to talk about goofy things reporters do, go on YouTube and search for “CNN nice melons.” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/20 "2009-01-24T00:10:06Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > Of course, I went to school in the '60’s. It’s the ONLY metric equivalent I know. Here in this Minnesota winter, we know how to convert -40ºF to Celsius (or Centigrade, for really old terms). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659.md?page=2)